Pumping unit for wells



June 1939- G. T. HUMPHREY PUMPING UNIT FOR WELLS ori inal Filed Jan. 13, 19:57

2 Sheets-Sheet l kaj yeffiafl r gy ATTORNEY 'IJI IVIIIIIIIIJ June 13, 1939. G. T. HUMPHREY 1,

PUMPING UNIT FOR'WELLS Original Filed Jan. 13, 1937 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 IIEHZ- Y 'I l A IV/ I If v 2 s 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented June 13, 1939 UNITE D STATES PATENT OFFICE PUMPING- UNIT FoRwELLs George'l. Humphrey, Dallas, Tern, assignor toRepublic Supply Company, Houston, Tex.

Application January 13, 1937, Serial No. 120,418 Renewed March. 6,1939- 7 Claimsa two point pivotal connection between the operative end of the beam and the polished ro'd. Another object of the invention is to provide a medium by which the Walking beam is constrained to follow a predeterminedipath, i. e.', perpendicular, at its operative, end to maintain alignment of the'pol'ished rod through thestufling box; to prevent undue-wear thereon in operation;

Broadly, theinvention aims'to-provide' a walking beamcapable of self alignment with the polished rod and" a suspension inwhich the pivotal point of the beam maybe spaced from 25 the' actual point of suspension thereof, thus to" provide for longitudinal displacement ofthe' beam in operation, which fact" Willenable the polished rod to follows; perpendicularpath without restraint', to reduce frictional wear thereon and on the stuffing, box packing surrounding'the same. Moreover, the invention contributes to" the economy of construction and operation of a well pumping unit inasmuch as the heretofore independently fabricated elements of a unit are madeinterchangeable andinexpensivelyreplaceable;

With the foregoing objects as paramount,.the invention has other and lesser" objects, as Well as certain salient features of construction and operation. of parts to become manifest asthe description" proceeds, taken in connection with the? accompanying drawings; wherein:

I Figure l'liS' a perspective viewof' a pumpingjunit' constructed according to the presentinvention. Figure 2 is a front or rear elevation of the suspension'bearing of the invention, showing its use as a pitman connection to a Walking. beam.

Figure 3'is a side elevation of the suspension bearing.

- Figure 451's a side'elevationiof the suspension bearing in-vertical section onlines 4-4 on Fig ure-2.

Figure-dis a front or rear view of" the suspension bearing, in vertical section, showing its adaptation' as a beamsupportingmeans:

Figure 6 is a plan. view of the crown plate of the Samson post, slotted to receive thesuspension arms of the bearing; in support'of the walking' beam.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of the 52 beam control means and Figure 8 is a plan view on lines 1-4 on Fi'g"-- ure 8.

Continuing with a more detailed description of the drawings, reference is primarily made t'o' Figure I in which is showna pumpingun'it'com' structed according to the present invention in the sense that its walking'beam I is suspended in the Samson post 2 by a bearing embodying the invention; that'the-pitman arms-S are simi- 15' larly connected to the beam and further; that the rod hanger at the forward end of: the beam" is connected thereto through the same" medium; Accordingly, it is apparent that not only is" the beam l itself mounted in-the Samson post by a- '0 device embodying the'invention, but also itsappurtenances, such as the rod hanger" and pitmanaswell as the means by which it is constrained tofollow a predetermined path in its travel. It is also pointed out that these connections or 25 bearings, being of similar construction and size are interchangeable and independently replaceable.

The- Samson post 2, in the present ca's'e, consists of' four I'-beams, having their lower ends" 30 mounted on a' concrete base 4 with their upper ends converging. The upper ends are wholly'embraced by'aseries of plates 5, with a crown plate 6' superimposing the same. This plate is shown in plan view in Figure 6. 35-

Upon the plate 6 is disposed a short section of I'-be'a'm'- T and upon this I be'am, in turn, is Welded a box 8. At this" point; attention is directed't'o' the fact that in all of the three uses to which the invention'is adapted, thec'onstruc- 40 tion'of the invention per se-does not'vary. Since this is true; the same-characters of reference-will be employed throughout the several views in the" drawings to denote similar parts;

Continuing with the beam suspension, it"will'be' 46" noted that the box 8 receives a cast block or" hearing 9, asshown in Figures 4' and 5, which has a concave recess or trough a therein to receive" the roller or cylindrical member l0 whose'surfa'ceconforms with the'con'cave of the-recessa: 50

A block b is welded to the roller ['0 at' a; point on-its surface, parallel to the longitudinal" axis of the roller and to either end of this blockis" affi'xecl' by welding or" other suitable means, an arm II. In the case of the walking" beam" 66 hanger, these arms depend through slots in the crown plate 6 (Fig. 6) and pivotally engage the stub shaft of a bearing I2 (Fig. l) on either side of the walking beam I. It is to be noted that'the bearing I2 is affixed to the underside of the walking beam at a point midway between the ends of the latter.

Thus, it will be seen that as the beam I is rocked, the roller I0, oscillates in its recess a in the bearing 9. The beam I, being suspended in the manner described, is capable of longitudinal displacement with minimum friction at its point of suspension and may therefore fol- 'rially to the period of usefulness of the polished the polished rod (not shown).

low the perpendicular travel of the polished rod, (not shown) rather than forcing the latter to follow an arcuate path in its reciprocation, which is objectionable inasmuch as wear occurs on the rod and its packing, requiring that it be repaired or replaced at frequent intervals.

In the case of the application of the invention as a means of connection between the pitman arms 3 and the beam I, a cross-head I3, in the form of a pair of parallel bars, is provided, whose ends are reinforced to receive the ends of the pitman arms 3 as shown in Figure 1. The lower ends of the arms-II of the suspension bearing embrace a bearing block M (Fig. 2) which is apertured to receive a pivotal pin I5 (Fig. 1). The cross-head I3 is therefore capable of rocking motion, if such is necessary, to

compensate for any variation in the throw of the cranks I6 of the power unit II or other measurements, without afiecting the operation of the walking beam I.

The foregoing is likewise true of the application of the invention as a connection between the walking beam I and the well rods through the polished rod. A connection similar to the cross-head- I3 is recommended for the joining of the operative end of the walking beam to Such a connection will lend the desired freedom of movement to the polished rod and this, combined with the yielding tendency of the walking beam, due to its form of suspension described, will add materod, as well as aiding the productiveness of the pumping equipment in the well.

The invention is especially valuable from the standpoint of effectiveness as well as economy and to prevent its deterioration by wear of the elements, the box 8 is filled with a lubricating medium. A hood or cover Ilia protects the bearing against ingress of moisture, dust and the like and is welded or otherwise afiixed to the bar I), secured to the roller I0 in the box 8, as shown.

With the foregoing provisions, it is obviously necessary to provide means for holding the walking beam against undue movement, since the same is swung freely from a point above the center of its major axis. This provision consists primarily of a gear or sprocket Ila, two of which are provided, one on either side of the bearing I2, which supports the walking beam I midway between its ends and a shaft I8, through the bearing. The shaft joins the two sprockets Ila and this shaft is in fixed relation with the walking beam I in order that the rotation of the sprockets is in proportion to the degree of dis-.

placement of the arms I I and the walking beam- I, effected by the pitmans 3, in one direction and the downward pull of the well rods in the opposite direction.

It will be observed that the lower ends of the arms II in Figure 7 are displaced relative to 2.

ency will be to yield to the weight I9 on its rearward end on its upward stroke.

In order, however, to insure control of the operative end of the beam, both in its upward and downward stroke, the sprockets Ila are each surrounded by chains I9, the ends of each being secured in the manner shown in Figure 7, to one of the legs 2 of the Samson post. A bolt 20 is passed through the chains and sprockets at one point or at a point diametrically opposite the point of securement of the chain ends when the beam I is in horizontal position. This will hold the suspension arms II of the beam always at an angle relative to the vertical plane and one lead of each, chain I9 will always be taut or under tension.

When the beam I is actuated, the chains will constrain the beam to swing toward the well rods at each extreme position but since the center of gravity of the beam is held in displaced, position by the chains, its weight alone will urge the beam longitudinally away from the rods as it passes a point midway between its extreme points of displacementI-Ience the effect of maintaining the operative end of the beam on a'straight perpendicular line, which prevents undue wear on the rods and packing.

Manifestly, the construction as shown and described is capable of some modification and such modification as may be construed Within the scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered to be within the spirit and intent of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A well pumping unit including a walking I beam, a, suspension bearing comprising a base portion,'a box superimposed upon said base portion, a bearing block enclosed by said box, a cylindrical bearing mounted upon said block and having a second block fixedly mounted thereto, de-

pending suspension arms aflixed to said latter block, means holding said suspension arms at an angle relative to the vertical plane, said means also causing said walking beam to be progressively moved longitudinally as it approaches its extreme positions of displacementin operation.

7 2. In a well pumping unit, a walking beam, a box mounted upon said walking beam, a bearing enclosed by said box, a cylindrical member reciprocably mounted upon said bearing, a sec-; ond block mounted upon said cylindrical mem-' cylindrical member at a point spaced from the axis thereof to support said walking beam for longitudinal displacement.

4. In a well pumping unit, a walking beam, a

bearing attached to said walking beam, a cylindrical member. r-eciprocably mounted upon said bearing, and arms attached to said cylindrical member at a point spaced from the axis thereof to support said walking beam at a point below its major axis for longitudinal displacement, and means to control the longitudinal displacement of said beam.

5. A well pumping unit including a walking.

beam suspended from a point above its major axis, a suspension bearing comprising a box, a removable bearing in said box, a rotatable member conformably received in said bearing, a pair of parallel suspension arms operatively connected to and depending from said rotatable member and supporting said beam, means constraining said arms to lie at an angle to the vertical, said means also causing said walking beam to be progressively displacedlongitudinally during its reciprocation past its horizontal plane. v

6. A well pumping unit including a supporting post and a suspension bearing mounted thereon, said bearing comprising a box mounted on said post, a removable, recessed block therein, rotatable means conforming to the recess in said block, suspension arms connected to and depending from said rotatable means and supporting said beam intermediate its ends, means holding said arms at an angle relative to the vertical plane, said means also imparting a forward thrust to said beam on either side of its horizontal plane.

7. A well pumping unit including a supporting post, a walking beam, means suspending said beam from said post at a point below its major axis and intermediate its ends, means constraining said suspending means to lie at an angle relative to the vertical plane, said means also constraining said beam to progressively move longitudinally as it passes the horizontal plane during reciprocation.

GEORGE T. HU'MPHREY. 

